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Group Learning Activities

Wednesday Afternoon Didactic Lectures

Wednesday afternoon is our dedicated educational conference time. All residents are excused from their rotations and patient care duties. We have two one-hour didactic lectures. Encompassing all aspects of family medicine, the lecture topics were carefully determined by considering the most common diagnoses in family medicine as well as by ACGME guidelines. Lecturers include our faculty as well as other attendings and specialists. Active participation and questions are encouraged.

Intern Lectures

For the first half of the academic year, there is a unique lecture series designed just for the new interns. Topics include those most needed early on in residency, such as “Common Nursing Calls” and “Management of Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath.”

Workshops

There are a number of practical, hands-on workshops designed to explain and teach procedural skills. Some of these include musculoskeletal exams, joint injection, endometrial biopsy/IUD placement, suturing, and splinting and casting.

Grand Rounds

Every resident presents two grand rounds during residency to illustrate the multi-dimensional problems in family medicine and reflect the “whole person” model of care that is the hallmark of our discipline. Traditional, formal, case-based grand rounds are one format.

We also have an alternative grand rounds format that delves more into clinical questions and the evidence-based answers. As lifelong learning is a requirement for a physician, knowing how to efficiently and effectively find evidence-based answers to questions at the point-of-care is an essential skill. This allows residents the opportunity to build upon their clinical questioning skills, to learn which evidence-based resources are most useful to a busy practicing clinician, and to learn how to more easily incorporate “looking it up” into their daily practice.

Regardless of which grand rounds format the resident chooses, live interviews with the patient and/or the family is strongly encouraged.

Chairman’s Rounds

Dr. William Schwer, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Rush University Medical Center, facilitates these problem-oriented monthly sessions with a resident. The resident presents a case and Dr. Schwer guides the group through a discussion on the work-up and differential diagnosis. Not only does the resident have to prepare a case, he/she gets to pick what’s for lunch, compliments of Dr. Schwer!

Teaching Rounds

Teaching Rounds occur several times per week for the inpatient team. The format is at the discretion of the attending on call that week and may include a case presentation and differential diagnosis discussion, radiology rounds, or bedside teaching rounds.

Noon Conferences

These resident-led noon conferences are held several times per week and focus on the discussion of a recent article from American Family Physician.

Journal Rounds

Journal Club is held every other month and is led by Dr. Rowland. This is invaluable to teaching the necessary tools to efficiently and critically evaluate the literature. Articles are specifically chosen to illustrate an important concept or to discuss a new medical finding.